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Luka Doncic's international showcase during this year's EuroBasket tournament has proved to be much more than any McDonald's All-American or NCAA Tournament can prove to NBA scouts. The 18-year-old Slovenian prodigy had a torrid nine games, leading his home country to the first title in international competition, battling to an undefeated 9-0 record after taking European giants down like France at the group stage, former reigning champion Spain in the semifinals, and Serbia in a 93-85 all-out war of a final game.
Doncic averaged 14.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists for Slovenia, displaying an all-around game against the best of the best from Europe and proving he can stack up against a very physical brand of basketball.
The 6-foot-6 guard/forward has impressed so much, that an NBA talent evaluator considered him “the best European prospect in years and years,” according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. How many years, exactly? The evaluator said as far back as when Pau Gasol was drafted in 2001.
Article Continues Below“He’s mature beyond his years, and has great court vision and basketball IQ,” the executive said about Doncic.
“He’s a natural leader, and capable of impacting the game without scoring, but can take over. He won’t dominate, but his teams will win games with his fingerprints all over the game.”
Doncic won't blow the roof off of the arena or have a 40-point game to outscore every player in the game, but he'll figure out the ways to help his team and hurt his opposition. It wasn't any more evident than in the last two games of tournament competition.
The youngster went 3-of-10 from the field in the semifinal against Spain, but added 12 rebounds and eight assists to his mere 11 points in the game in a near-triple-double effort. In the final against Serbia he was 3-of-10 once again, but pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and had a block and a steal before leaving with a third-quarter ankle injury.
Doncic's game is as well-rounded and as pro-ready as they get, possessing all the fundamentals of the game and only lacking the shot selection that only comes with maturity and playing the game. Known as a likely top five pick in this upcoming NBA Draft, it likely won't be long until he climbs the ladder even higher while playing professionally in Real Madrid in the second-most competitive league in the world.
